Corn Prices and Falling Cattle Numbers

I’m a devotee of Market to Market, Iowa Public Television’s farm program. Because Idaho PTV broadcasts it at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays, I seldom see it on TV, but I can catch it on the internet anytime, and even see episodes I’ve missed.  To get in the spirit of the thing, I suppose that by 6:30 I should already have been up and out to check the sheep, or something. Oh, wait, I used to do that during lambing season — and at  midnight, at 2, at 4….it was enough already.  And my in-laws in Illinois, who actually do grow corn, are on the Redneck Riviera this time of year, so they’re not sitting at their kitchen table in their John Deere caps at that hour of the morning, either.

My favorite part of the program is the last segment, where one of several rotating commodities experts pontificate on whether it’s time to sell that big pile of corn that we all have in our backyard silos — fraught with tension, these discussions.  Will prices rise or fall?  Time to buy some puts?  Fun, especially if you have no money invested yourself.  My favorite gurus are Virgil Robinson, Sue Martin, and Tomm Pfitzenmaier.  I love Virgil because he predicted the big run-up in grain prices back in 2008.  I like Sue because I can imagine being her, if I’d been born with better career sense.  Virgil always thinks prices are rising, and Sue always thinks prices are about to fall, so if you alternated acting on their advice, you’d probably break even.   Tomm Pfitzenmaier — well, I just like his name.

So what are these experts saying?   I’ll paraphrase the last few episodes.  Cotton first: where prices have been screaming higher and higher for months and are now over $1.60 a pound.  This after years and years, decades really, of prices between 40 and 60 cents a pound, prices that effectively held down other fibers, like wool. Some of this was due to the subsidies paid to American agribusiness to grow cotton, one of the most soil-draining, pesticide-intensive crops ever.  And it’s not like we actually even make anything from our cotton anymore: we apparently ship almost all of it to mills in Asia.  But the subsidies caused overproduction which in turn bankrupted poor cotton farmers in Africa.

Two new cases of brucellosis in Wyoming.

Park County bison tests positive for brucellosis
By BOB MOEN – Associated Press.

Herd tests positive for brucellosis
By BRENNA BRAATEN – Cody Enterprise.

Important developments on the Brucellosis front.

Montana and Wyoming infections and capture of elk.

The last week has been filled with many stories about brucellosis and its impacts on wildlife and livestock.

First, Montana has announced plans to capture and test elk for brucellosis then place radio collars on those females that test positive to see where they go and where they give birth.

Montana plans to capture 500 elk for disease testing.
By MATTHEW BROWN – The Associated Press

This comes at the same time that cattle in Wyoming have tested positive for brucellosis which has caused the state to implement wider testing to determine if there are other cases nearby.

Cows in Park County cattle herd test positive for brucellosis exposure.
By JEFF GEARINO – Star-Tribune staff writer

Wyoming plans to test up to 3,000 cattle.
Associated Press

On top of all of this news come reports that domestic bison on Ted Turner’s Flying D ranch have tested positive for the disease.  These are not the bison from the Yellowstone quarantine program.

Brucellosis Found in Domestic Bison Herd.
Montana Department of Livestock

Brucellosis Found In Domestic Bison Near Bozeman.
cbs4denver.com

In response to the infections of brucellosis in previous years the state of Montana implemented a plan which called for increased surveillance in counties which surround Yellowstone National Park in an effort to spare the entire state of losing its brucellosis free status in the event that further infections occur.

Livestock officials set meetings on brucellosis rule
The Belgrade News

All too often, when infections are found, officials blame elk before there is any evidence to support the claim.  While it may be likely that elk are behind these incidents it is important to investigate other sources in an effort to determine whether other cattle may be the source as well.

One thing has been determined with regard to past incidents, bison are not to blame.

Rancher still quarantining herd after brucellosis

7 tested positive.

We wrote about this story last December: Second brucellosis case found in Idaho cattle herd. It turns out that 7 cattle tested positive in the herd that was assembled over the last two years. The origins of the animals have not been reported. The remaining animals are being kept in quarantine.

Idaho State Veterinarian Bill Barton was quick to blame elk as the source of the outbreak but there has been no source identified. Will the results of the epidemiology be released?

Rancher still quarantining herd after brucellosis.
Idaho Statesman